Rhode Island Military Records Research Guide

American military history in Rhode Island began with the organization of the colonial militia early on in the 17th century primarily to battle against assaults from native inhabitants. The benefits and significance of Rhode Island military records in genealogical research for ancestors who were veterans are apparent but Rhode Island military records can also be important to researchers whose immediate ancestors just weren’t soldiers in any war. Because of the quantity of genealogical facts covered in several Rhode Island military pension documents they ought to not be overlooked throughout the research process.

In colonial times, Rhode Island’s seafaring and sea trading businesses were booming. It was common for smuggling, slave trading and privateering ships to be docked in Rhode Island’s ports. Rhode Island was also a major part of the colonial wars because of all of the sea trade that went on in the state. Many military records are on file at the Rhode Island State Archives. The Rhode Island Historical Society, which is located in Providence, has published Rhode Island in the Colonial Wars: A List of Rhode Island Soldiers and Sailors in King George’s War, 1740-48; Rhode Island Privateers in King George’s War, 1739-48; and Rhode Island Soldiers and Sailors in the Old French and Indian War, 1755-62. It is a three-volume set containing valuable genealogical and historical information regarding Rhode Island’s role in the wars.

In 1777, a military census was taken for Rhode Island. It listed all men in the state and their ability to serve in the military, or inability to do so. They were separated into three age groups, which were those from 16 to 50, those from 50 to 60 and those older than 60. No returns from Newport, Portsmouth or Middletown exist for that census because the British had control of those towns at the time that the census was taken. Also, although census records were taken for New Shoreham, Exeter and Little Compton at the time, they have been lost or destroyed. An index of all Rhode Island men who served in the Revolutionary war can be found at the Rhode Island State Archives.

The Adjutant General’s Office has military records dating from the Civil War until the end of World War I on file.

The Rhode Island 1777 Military Census – This military census of Rhode Island is an enumeration of all males over sixteen both able and unable to bear arms. In addition, the census was to provide the names of men already in the state militia or in Continental battalions, and to identify transients, Indians, Negroes, and Quakers. The result is a town-by-town list of about 8,500 Rhode Island men–complete except for the enumerations of six towns which are missing from the records in the State Archives. The records given here in full are for the remaining twenty-three towns.

U.S., Confederate Soldiers Compiled Service Records, 1861-1865 – This database contains an index to compiled service records (CSRs) for soldiers who served with units in the Confederate army. Most of the men whose names appear in this index served with units from 15 different states or territories; others were soldiers raised directly by the Confederate government, generals and staff officers, and other enlisted men not associated with a regiment. Compiled service records are files of cards that abstract original military records relating to an individual soldier. A typical CSR will include an envelope that lists a soldier’s name, rank, unit, and card numbers, followed by cards with details extracted from muster rolls, rosters, hospital rolls, Union prison records, payrolls, and other records, with a new card being created each time a soldier’s name appeared on a new document. The CSRs may also include original documents pertaining to the soldier. The CSRs do not constitute an exhaustive list of all men who served in the Confederate army.